Partnership to Drive Care 2.0 - A New Generation of Care for Athletes
with Additional Treatment Options

April 07, 2016 08:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

RICHMOND, Calif. & SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Constance Therapeutics, a whole plant cannabis extract producer, and
Gridiron Cannabis Coalition (GCC), an organization dedicated to the
advancement of medical cannabis, today announced a partnership to
advance research into the benefits that whole plant cannabis extracts
can offer athletes suffering from chronic pain, brain trauma and other
sports-related injuries. Constance Therapeutics and GCC will conduct
research that surpasses lesser CBD-only approaches and takes into
account that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is often needed for optimal
therapeutic benefit, as illustrated by “The Entourage Effect.” This
partnership was formed to drive a new generation of care for athletes –
Care 2.0 – in which whole plant cannabis extracts are utilized as part
of an integrative treatment option to traditional pharmaceutical
medications, which have had adverse effects on many National Football
League (NFL) players.

“My mission is to save lives and change minds,” said Boo Williams, a
former National Football League tight end who played for five years with
the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs. “I have learned that
cannabis is a science and a plant that helps people. My experience with
cannabis has taught me that it is a far better option than the pills
that get shoved at players. If I can save one life or improve one life
with this study that GCC and Constance Therapeutics are doing, I will
have accomplished my mission. The approach being taken by Constance
Therapeutics is a different one than what most people associate with
cannabis. This company uses science to create extracts that are useful
for many conditions. The science behind the extracts and the promise
they hold for conditions like pain management have intrigued me on many
levels, and I am looking forward to seeing the outcomes from the
research involving me and other former NFL players.”

“I was inspired to work with GCC because so many athletes have been
failed by traditional medicine, just as I have,” said Constance Finley,
founder and chief executive officer of Constance Therapeutics. “After
cycling through several prescription drugs with the hope of finding
relief from my rare autoimmune disease, I reluctantly tried medical
cannabis. This ended up being the decision that would save my life, and
it led me to develop my own cannabis extracts and form Constance
Therapeutics. It is now my mission to help others seeking alternatives
to what are often highly addictive pharmaceuticals.”

The federal government holds a Department of Health and Human Services
patent for the medical use of cannabinoids (including THC) as
antioxidants and neuro-protectants, despite stating that cannabis offers
no medical benefit. Largely due to the federal government’s stance and
the plant’s classification as a Schedule One drug (alongside heroin and
LSD), the medical community has only begun to explore the benefits of
cannabis. Although the plant’s full potential is yet to be understood,
research has indicated it has tremendous potential in treating chronic
pain, brain trauma (including chronic traumatic encephalopathy),
epilepsy, autoimmune and nervous system diseases, Alzheimer’s, and
cancer.

“GCC has partnered with Constance Therapeutics to produce evidence of
cannabis’ efficacy and to drive the medical cannabis dialogue forward
within sports organizations and beyond,” said Matthew Bucciero, founding
partner of the Gridiron Cannabis Coalition. “We were drawn to Constance
Therapeutics because of the company’s dedication to science and the
extraordinary attention to quality, potency and consistency that goes
into each and every batch. That same science-based approach will be
applied to the research we pursue – research that will hopefully lead to
greater access to medical cannabis for athletes so they are no longer
limited to traditional pharmaceuticals, as active players and during
retirement.”

About Constance Therapeutics

Constance Therapeutics is a vertically integrated medicinal cannabis
company producing standardized and science-based whole plant cannabis
extracts. The company has created a new category of whole plant cannabis
extracts that provides additional treatment options and fills the gap
between traditional pharmaceuticals and commonplace cannabis products.
Constance Therapeutics’ extracts are produced from fully trimmed, female
unfertilized cannabis sativa flowers of plants with known genetics using
certified-organic, pharmaceutical-grade ethanol via a
tightly-controlled, quantitatively-defined and patent-pending process
that is based on scientific and engineering principles. Each lot of
extracts is third party tested and routinely cross-tested in the
industry’s most respected laboratories. Since 2008, the company has
employed stringent, science-based processes and standards to ensure the
highest quality and purity. Headquartered in Richmond, California,
Constance Therapeutics’ cannabis extracts are available exclusively for
therapeutic use and can only be purchased by registered California
patients, in keeping with Proposition 215, and California Senate Bill
420. For further information, please visit: www.constancecbd.com.

About Gridiron Cannabis Coalition

Gridiron Cannabis Coalition is an organization dedicated to the
advancement of medical cannabis treatment as an alternative to
prescription medications. Created by current and former NFL players,
cannabis industry experts and medical professionals, the Gridiron
Cannabis Coalition mission is to establish a system whereby athletes
have access to a natural treatment for neurological and physical
ailments they suffer as a result of their careers.